Barmitzvah joy for Helena

Prim and proper English actress Helena Bonham Carter has revealed that she's not really the English rose people think she is.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the 40-year-old, who is promoting the Jewish coming of age film Sixty Six, talked about her role as a breakthrough for the Jewish side of her family.

It transpires that Bonham Carter has not only a Jewish mother but also maternal grandmother, who converted to Catholicism on her marriage.

Sixty Six, in which she plays the mother of the Barmitzvah boy, was her first major Jewish role and she says she enjoyed it very much.

According to a production insider: "Helena had a blast making the film, as it really brought her in touch with her Jewish heritage. As a young mother herself, she felt some common ground with the Jewish mother character she played, and talked about how she would even like to have a Barmitzvah for her own son (who she has with Hollywood director Tim Burton)".